Month: May 2017

History was made this morning in Martinstown as the school’s camogie team claimed a south title at their first attempt.

Herbertstown 1.02 Manister 1.00

Our camogie team travelled to Martinstown this morning having already claimed a couple of firsts for the school. It was the first year that the school entered a camogie team in the south division and following a blitz last week a place in a first final was achieved. Dozens of supporters joined parents and staff on the sidelines to cheer on the girls.

The match started at a frantic pace with Manister launching a few early attacks on the Herbertstown goal. It was the girls in maroon and white who registered the first score however as Aisling landed a free from the sideline. This spurred on the Herbertstown attack and some smart link up play involving Lauren and Holly led to a kicked attempt from Caoimhe which almost raised a green flag. Manister got themselves on the scoreboard with a goal and at half time Mainister led by 2 points.

Herbertstown started strongly in the second half and the defensive unit, which included Áine, Eva and Olivia, were tenacious in their efforts. Another free brought the gap to a solidarity point. Some nervy moments followed as numerous great attempts just tailed wide. It was starting to seem like it wasn’t going to be the girls’ day. Chloe was introduced to bolster the attack as Herbertstown refused to accept defeat. With time almost up, the ball broke to Aisling who escaped her marker and hammered a shot to the corner of the net. The final whistle sounded shortly afterwards and huge celebrations followed.

Manister principal Peter Lavin then presented a cup to a Herbertstown camogie captain for the first time. Massive congratulations to the girls and their coach Mr. Wixted!

Marine Biologist Lucy Hunt delivered a fascinating workshop with 5th & 6th class today in Herbertstown NS. Lucy has worked on numerous different projects studying marine life all over the world. Pupils had an opportunity to see and examine plankton, crabs, starfish and other creatures.

Lucy also gave an excellent talk on marine life around Ireland which included some fantastic first hand accounts of encounters with orcas, blue whales, humpback whales and dolphins.

Caoimhe, 6th Class:

Today a woman called Lucy Hunt came to our school. She is a Marine Biologist

She brought in crabs, anemone, seaweed and plankton.

Here are some facts she told us:

Crabs hiss or scream because they have air in them.

There are more mammals in the sea then on the land.

Two Otters sleep “holding” paws so they don’t float away.

There are 25 species of whales and dolphins in Irish waters.

Gannets are the largest sea birds in the Northern Hemisphere.

A cetacean is a Greek word that means whales and dolphins.

A Bowhead whale ended up in Irish waters last summer when it normally lives in the Arctic.

In 2007 a Bowhead was caught with a Harpoon in its head dating back to the 1890’s.

Common Dolphins form a Super Pod of 1,000 animals.

Bottlenose Dolphins may live up to 50 years and many grow up to 4m.

Orcas may grow up to 9.5 metres and may live up to 90 years.

Baleen is made of the same material as your hair and nails.

Fin whales are large whales and the blow from its blowhole may reach up to 10m.

Blue whales are very rare and there are only 500 left in the Northern Hemisphere.

In the Mediterranean Sea a humpback whale launched out of the water and landed on a small yacht.

In 2016 13 Sperm whales were found dead with stomachs full of plastic.

Currently, 70 whales are using Irish waters.

To finish, Lucy brought the class outside and had them draw out different marine mammals to get an idea of their size.

The workshop was secured as a prize for a drawing of Lough Gur by Nathan back in the autumn. The drawing secured third place in a competition run by Limerick City and County Council.

The South Limerick camogie team claimed the Neville Cup this afternoon in the Gaelic Grounds following their victory over West Limerick in the final. Well done to Aisling and everyone involved!

Stellar performances at the Primary School Athletics in Limerick.

A 44 strong team departed for the University of Limerick this morning for the Limerick Primary School Athletics.

Our boys and girls teams participated in events like the 100, 200 and 400 metres as well as the long jump and a series of relays. The girls team performed admirably in a keenly contested category. The boys category was equally close with the result going down to the very last race. In a nail biting finish our over 12 relay team produced a fantastic team display to secure first place. Massive congratulations to every boy and girl who took part, they did their school proud.

Guest Speaker:

Step 2 – Technology

Accelerated Reader Programme – The school purchased a suite of Microsoft Surface computers to aid learning in the school. One of the most successful applications of these tablet computers has been their use to aid the implementation of the Accelerated Reader programme in the school. Pupils read books (from the school library or books at home) and use the tablet computers to visit the Accelerated Reader website and complete quizzes on the books they have read. They can also access information on their previous results in quizzes, the amount of words they have read and view suggested titles.

Graphing results:

In order to present the findings of their survey of tea habits in Herbertstown, the pupils of 5th class used Microsoft Excel to create graphs. These graphs were then in posters which were on display at the Fair.

Step 4 – Maths

Tally Charts – Tally charts were used by the pupils of 5th and 6th class when compiling information on their projects for the RDS Science Fair. The 5th class surveyed parents on their tea preferences and the 6th class surveyed pupils on their attitudes towards hurling helmets. (the tallies of the tea survey were then used to create graphs using Microsoft Excel).

Step 5 – STEM Show & Tell

The sky’s the limit for Herbertstown NS pupils after the visit of Captain Barry Cason.

Cpt. Cason, who flies freight for Cargojet and is based in Canada, paid an hour long visit to 5th & 6th class. Having previously worked as a pilot on a commercial airline he was able to talk to the children about all aspects of the job. There was an opportunity for the pupils to quiz Cpt. Cason on what it’s like to be a pilot and he was very impressed with the questions being posed. He fielded questions on topics like taking off, landing, turbulence, weather systems and much much more. One story the children found particularly interesting involved the transport of a polar bear from a zoo in Australia to another in Canada.

It was a very memorable experience for all present and perhaps a future pilot or two may emerge from the group in years to come!

Cpt. Cason shows the children the aircraft he is currently flying.

Cpt. Cason points out his home city of Toronto, Canada.

Cpt. Cason explains how pilots use the curvature of the Earth and its rotation when they fly.

Cpt. Cason shows the children a video of a landing he performed and discusses risks like wind, snow and birds.

Cpt. Cason shows the children the onboard computer.

Cpt. Cason shows the children a weather map and explains why it is so important to pilots.

Pictiúirí

Herberstown NS, Herberstown, Co. Limerick at this years RDS Primary Science Fair Limerick which will see over 3000 primary school students from all over the country exhibit theirSTEM investigations at Mary Immaculate College. Between the three venues of Limerick, Dublin and Belfast there will be over 7000 participants in 2018. Photo: Oisin McHugh True Media